Doctors in general earn some of the highest incomes to be found outside of the corporate boardroom, but within the medical profession, some specialties pay much better than others. Orthopedic surgeons, who correct injuries, conditions and deformities of the skeleton, joints and their supporting musculature, are among the highest-paidin the medical profession. Individual surgeons' salaries vary widely, but on average, orthopedic surgeons out-earn most of their peers in the medical profession.

Doctors in general earn some of the highest incomes to be found outside of the corporate boardroom, but within the medical profession, some specialties pay much better than others. Orthopedic surgeons, who correct injuries, conditions and deformities of the skeleton, joints and their supporting musculature, are among the highest-paidin the medical profession. Individual surgeons' salaries vary widely, but on average, orthopedic surgeons out-earn most of their peers in the medical profession.

Broad Averages

A July 2011 special issue of "Modern Healthcare" magazine collected and compared 16 major physician salary surveys in an effort to find benchmarks for the profession. For orthopedic surgeons, the lowest reported average salary was $378,062 a year and the highest was $576,350 per year. Most fell between $450,000 and $550,000 per year. For example, staffing firm Merritt Hawkins reported an average of $521,000 per year, with a low of $300,000 and a high of $700,000. Their rivals at Jackson & Coker reported an average income of $515,581 per year, with another $103,116 in benefits for total average compensation of $618,697 per year.

Salaries by Specialty

Some salary surveys break out data for specific specialties within orthopedic surgery. For example, figures from the American Medical Group Association, or AMGA, report a median income of $425,000 per year for pediatric orthopedic surgeons. The median for trauma surgeons was similar, at $424,555 per year, while hand surgeons had a median income of $476,039 per year. Orthopedic surgeons specializing in joint surgeries and replacements earned a median income of $605,953 per year, while responses from orthopedic spinal surgeons resulted in a median income of $688,503 per year.

Comparisons

These figures compare well to salaries in other disciplines. For example, the same AMGA salary survey reports a median salary of $592,811 a year for neurosurgeons, one of the few specialties to compare with orthopedic surgery for earning potential. Plastic surgeons' median salaries were $390,142 a year, while general surgeons reported a median income of $357,091 per year. Salaries for surgical specialties in general are higher than those of physicians in non-surgical specialties. The median salary of obstetricians and gynecologists was $275,152 per year, while for family physicians the median was a relatively low $208,861 per year.

Outlook

The needs of a growing and aging population will continue to increase demand for physicians and surgeons, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau predicts a 24 percent growth in the number of physicians practicing in the United States between 2010 and 2020. This should result in strong prospects for orthopedic surgeons, as the aging baby boomers will need treatment for arthritis, as well as hip, knee and spinal conditions that would otherwise limit their mobility or quality of life.

2016 Salary Information for Physicians and Surgeons

Physicians and surgeons earned a median annual salary of $204,950 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, physicians and surgeons earned a 25th percentile salary of $131,980, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $261,170, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 713,800 people were employed in the U.S. as physicians and surgeons.

About the Author

Fred Decker is a trained chef and certified food-safety trainer. Decker wrote for the Saint John, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and has been published in Canada's Hospitality and Foodservice magazine. He's held positions selling computers, insurance and mutual funds, and was educated at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.